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The Golden Web
The Golden Web

Chapter XXIV

Cover illustration for The Golden Web
Context Illustration Reading 1/38 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.
She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.
This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.
She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.
There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Golden Web

Chapter XXIV

Reading 1/38 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.
Line 2
She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.
Line 3
This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.
Line 4
She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.
Line 5
There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

Learner Dictionary

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, audio, and collocations from this reading.

Across preposition US /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading “She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.”

Hands plural noun US /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading “MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.”

Herself pronoun US /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading “She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.”

Life noun US /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.”

Looked noun US /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading “She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.”

Maelstrom noun US /ˈmeɪl.strɒm/

A powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river; a state of confused turmoil.

From this reading “She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.”

Must modal verb US /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.”

One pronoun US /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.”

Resting noun US /ˈresting/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading “MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.”

Upon preposition US /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading “MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.”

All words in this reading · 64

Every word is available to listen to. Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

acrossprepositionUS /əˈkrɔːs/

from one side of something to the other

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

apartment

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

appeared

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

attitude

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

back

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

curiously

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

despairing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

dreams

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

dreary

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

dull

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

elbows

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

end

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

enough

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

eyes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

felt

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

girl

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

go

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

handsplural nounUS /hændz/

members of a ship’s crew

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

hard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

head

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

headlong

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

horsehair

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

ill-cleaned

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

INFORMATION

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

intolerable

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

knees

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

lifenounUS /life/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

lookednounUS /looked/

an important story-specific word used in this passage

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

maelstromnounUS /ˈmeɪl.strɒm/

A powerful whirlpool in the sea or a river; a state of confused turmoil.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

middle

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

MUTUAL

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

occupant

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

other

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

out

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

restingnounUS /ˈresting/

a story-specific word describing an important person, object, action, or idea in this passage

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

room

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

similar

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

sitting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

sofa

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

somewhat

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

There

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one other occupant of the room, and, curiously enough, his attitude appeared to be a somewhat similar one.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

throw

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading This, then, was to be the end of her dreams.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading MUTUAL INFORMATION The girl was sitting in the middle of a hard horsehair sofa, her elbows upon her knees, her head resting in her hands.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

From this reading She must go back to the life which she felt to be intolerable, or she must throw herself headlong into the maelstrom.

windows

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading She looked across the dreary apartment and out of the ill-cleaned windows, with dull, despairing eyes.